adminSpeaking at the sidelines of the LM Auctioneers women’s soccer tournament which was won by Black Rhinos in Gweru last weekend, Gumbo said her association had come up with a programme of action which will see the senior women’s national team qualifying for the next Olympics and World Cup.
The country was pipped for a place at the just-ended Olympics by Nigeria after suffering back-to-back losses in the final qualifiers.
“Big things are coming for women’s soccer in the country as we have come up with a development plan where we will hold tournaments with emphasis on junior development all year round.
“We want to make sure that we tap all the talent so that we can have stronger junior and senior national teams in the next two years.
“This will help us compete at the international stage which will see us qualifying for the next Olympics and the World Cup,” Gumbo said.
She hailed Marange Diamonds and LM Auctioneers for supporting women’s football and said the coming on board of the two companies was a vote of confidence in the manner women’s football was being run in the country.
“I extend my gratitude to Marange Diamonds who are our principal sponsor and LM Auctioneers who have come on board which shows that as women’s football we are doing something in the development of football and this gives us motivation to continue doing more to uplift the girl child.
“It is also a sign that the corporate world is slowly appreciating women’s football especially after our regional success when we won the Cosafa Cup Challenge and qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Mozambique last year,
“We are therefore challenging other companies to come on board and contribute to the development of the women’s game and ultimately the girl child,” added Gumbo.
derick.khumalo